The Discovery of Macchia
The discovery of Macchia began, in my own case, with experimental explorations in oil sketching in sienna to see if I could create compositions limited to 2-4 flat values. I found that if I kept the sienna paint very light in value, that infinite modelling was possible. It was also possible to make very dark marks in places when necessary. The composition coud be tweaked and changed endlessly without loss of overall unity. Color could then be applies wet into wet or, after drying the initial macchia sketch, directly on top of the original pattern taking care not to obliterate the underlying mcchia.